Tech buses blocked, vandalized in protests

For the second time in two weeks, protesters angry with tech-boom gentrification in the Bay Area surrounded and temporarily blocked corporate shuttle buses full of tech workers — both in San Francisco and Oakland. This go-round, however, some activists apparently became destructive.

A window was shattered and tires were slashed on a bus that was picking up Google employees at 7th and Adeline streets near the West Oakland BART Station, according to the Bay Area Council, which represents businesses that run shuttles. The damage was corroborated by photos on Twitter.

Oakland police said they responded to reports of people throwing rocks at the bus, with protesters disbanding when officers arrived. No citations were issued.

Similar, though more peaceful, demonstrations took place near the MacArthur BART Station in Oakland and near the 24th and Mission BART Station in San Francisco.

Shortly before 9 a.m. at Valencia and 24th streets, a few dozen demonstrators surrounded a bus shuttling Apple employees to the company’s Peninsula campus. The blockade didn’t last long, as police soon arrived and protesters followed their orders to move to the sidewalk. The bus departed at 9:20 a.m.

Tony Robles, who works for a nonprofit group that advocates for seniors and the disabled , said he joined the rally to call attention to rising rents that displaced vulnerable residents. “We’re here to send a message to the rich tech companies that their business has ramifications and consequences,” he said.

Efforts to talk to the bus riders were unsuccessful.

Business leaders have said the backlash against the tech buses doesn’t make sense, as the buses take solo drivers off the roads. According to the Bay Area Council, a business group that represents the shuttle operators, 30 companies run the buses and make a combined total of 4,000 stops across San Francisco every weekday.

Currently, those buses are using Muni stops without permission and without paying a cent, but the city is working with companies on a fee system.